Bob Nicholson apologizes for his comments about Tobias Rieder

Earlier this week, Edmonton CEO Bob Nicholson had to find someone to blame for the constant demise of the Edmonton Oilers since they will miss the playoffs for the twelfth time in 13 seasons. And that person that the CEO decided to blame is 3rd line forward Tobias Rieder.

During a season ticket holders event, the CEO decided to put all the blame on the #22.

Toby Rieder will not be signed by the Edmonton Oilers at the end of the year, Nicholson said during a questioning period. Toby Rieder was a player that other teams wanted. He came here for one years because he wanted to play with Leon Draisaitl who he plays with on the German national team. He thought if he wasn't playing with Leon, he'd be playing with Connor, he'd score 15-16 goals, and instead of making two million, he'd sign a four-year deal [extension] at three and a half million. Toby Rieder hasn't scored a goal. Toby Rieder has missed so many breakaways. If Toby Rieder would have scored 10 or 12 goals, we'd probably be in the playoffs.

 Kind of harsh to put all the blame on a third line winger for the struggles of a team. Once Rieder caught wind of what Bob Nicholson said about him, he was obviously offended.

You look at it, and you kind of can't believe it, Rieder stated after a team practice. I feel like it's disappointing and I'm offended by it. I’m the first one to admit I don’t have a good year. It has not been an easy season for me. It’s been hard, but I’m still going out there and giving 100 per cent every time I’m on the ice every game, said Rieder. It was tough to read that somebody gets singled out like that and kind of thrown under the bus.

Rieder has stated that Nicholson called him Thursday afternoon to apologize for his actions and told him that the comments won't have any affect on his future with the organization. Rieder added that both his teammates and the coaching staff are behind him.

He’s a no-maintenance player, said head coach Ken Hitchcock. We don’t have to worry about whether he’s prepared or not or whether he’s going to do the right thing on the ice. He’s a very good penalty killer. He hasn’t scored like he normally does. It’s probably put a lot of pressure on him. He’s a good teammate.

Are Nicholson's comments about Rieder accurate or was it just to throw someone under the bus and it happened to be the #22?